A Ghoul (And a Few Llamas) In the Attic
by Jenrukiforevz
Summary: When a ghoul moves into the attic at the Burrow, the Weasley children are determined to drive it out. But it might not be so easy when the ghoul discovers a secret weapon up there.


**A/N: Gosh, this took me a while. Since it was for a contest, I was writing like mad trying to get it in because it was due today. And then I get word that there was an extension... poo. Oh well, I finished, so here it goes. I hope to win some bonus points with this even though I got lazy at the end. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Ron, you are such a wimp."

"Am not!"

Fred and George both laughed maniacally at Ron's statement while Ginny and Percy rolled their eyes.

It was not often that Ron agreed to do get involved with the twins unless he was forced to do so by his mother or it involved quidditch, but Fred and George always found a way. This time, it was blackmail.

George had explained to him that a ghoul had recently moved into the attic, and they were going up there to try and convince it to leave. It wasn't letting most of the family to rest in peace, including Ron, seeing as his room was directly below the attic. Of course, Ginny tagged along to see him embarass himself, and Percy was only there to supervise since he was a heavy sleeper.

The five kids were crowded around the stairs that lead to the attic, waiting impatiently for Ron to make the first move. He really didn't want to, but he had always been the center of the twins' amusement. There was no other alternative.

"Face it Ron; you're more scared of the spiders than the ghoul," Fred teased, jabbing his younger brother in the ribs.

"That's not true!" Ron retorted as he struggled to get away from George's arms that were threatening to tickle him. "I'm not afraid of them. I just don't like them." In reality, he was terrified of the eight-legged bugs, but he deserved the benefit of the doubt.

"Can we get this over with?" Percy complained, sneaking a peek at his watch. "I've got summer homework to do."

"Yes, because being a third-year is sooo hard!" George sneered.

"I hate to agree with Percy, but can we actually start? I don't have all day," Ginny said, irritated.

"It's not our fault!" Fred exclaimed in an offended tone.

George joined in, "Yeah! Ron's the one keeping up the line!"

"Fine!" Ron growled, climbing up the stairs. He mumbled a couple of curses under his breath, quiet enough so that no one could tell his mother afterwards.

"We musn't take long," Percy reminded the group as they popped into the attic one by one. "It'll be dinner soon."

"Dinner can wait. Mum is much calmer without us anyway," Fred commented.

"Don't talk about your mother that way," Percy countered, dusting off some of the dust that landed on his robes.

"Are we gonna explore or what?" Ginny interrupted as she began to survey the piles of boxes.

"Ginny's right. Let's get started!" George announced, giving Ron a little shove for effect.

All of the Weasleys departed in separate directions, some a little more confident than others. Ron sighed and chose to head towards the left wall of the attic. He was sure that the ghoul had to be around nearby (the attic wasn't too big, after all) and was hopeful to be the first to get to the ghoul. It shouldn't have been so hard to find it, but after ten minutes of intense searching, nothing presented itself to him.

Just then, however, he heard a noise behind him. He reasoned that it must be the ghoul and turned around swiftly. "Aha!" he cried loud enough for everyone to hear, but was cut short when the only thing he saw was a stuffed gray llama that had obviously been white before. It had large pointed ears, and black, beady eyes that seemed to be piercing straight into his soul. "Ahh!"

"Ron, did you find it?" Percy asked as he rounded the corner.

"Well, I-" his cheeks reddened instantly.

"Yeah, Won Won. Did the ghoul get ya?" Fred bullied as he and George made their way over to them.

"Or was it a spider?" George added.

"Quit it, you guys!" Ginny defended her brother. That only made him even more embarrassed. He appreciated the gesture, but he didn't want his little sister to be the one performing it.

Percy simply ignored the twins and motioned for Ron to continue.

Ron played with his fingers before admitting, "I thought I heard something behind me, but when I turned around, that llama was staring at me. I just sort of reacted quickly."

Fred and George burst out laughing. They practically fell to the floor and although there wasn't much room, they could hardly keep still. To be honest, Ginny was having trouble trying to stop herself from doing the same. Even Percy let a few muffled giggles escape from his mouth.

"It's not funny! Look at it!" Ron attempted to defend himself. He got up and took the stuffed llama down from its place on top of a musty cardboard box, practically shoving it up everyone's nose.

"Kids! Time for dinner!" Mrs. Weasley called from the kitchen.

"Well, your operation failed," Percy stated. "We can try again tomorrow."

Ginny nodded, already walking towards the stairs.

Fred and George sighed with disappointment. "I suppose," they said in unison, following her.

Soon afterwards, Percy and Ron were heading down too. Yet, Ron still thought it rather odd that they couldn't find the ghoul. There were five of them, in a little attic, with barely any space to move around in. And he swore he heard _something_...

* * *

Ron awoke to the sound of screaming. He found himself joining once he opened his eyes.

On his bed was a lavender llama with creepy blue eyes. The shock made him push it over his bed and start kicking it. "Not this time, you freak!"

He hadn't noticed that Fred, George, and Ginny had arrived and were watching him closely.

"Oh... Hi?"

"Don't joke with us, Ronald," Fred responded with a serious tone.

"What did I do?" he puzzled. What had he done to get him so angry?

George stepped up and with a devilish grin, answered, "You obviously set this all up to get back at us. It was brilliant, I must admit, but I didn't think you would stoop so low."

"Indeed," Fred agreed. "Where did you get so many llamas anyway?"

"I didn't do any of this!" Ron retorted. "You're probably just framing me for something you two did."

"If you didn't, then you made a really big fuss over it," George pointed out. "It was just a llama."

Ginny started laughing from the doorway. "You above everyone else shouldn't be able to say that! Oh, Ron! I wish you could have seen it. '_Die you horrible piece of scum!'_"

Fred snickered as well. "I doubt it was going to eat your face, George."

George shrugged it off, although it was obvious he had been beaten and was embarrassed about it. "Whatever. But the real question is, if Ron didn't do it, and Fred and I didn't either, who did?"

The room went quiet for a bit. Ron concentrated. Bill wasn't in the house, Charlie didn't have a reason to do it, Percy was too much of a baby, and Ginny was too small to have come up with something like that. He doubted that his dad would do it, and his mother would never have followed through with such a plan. The only ones that would want to do it would be the twins, but Ron didn't think that was the case either. But that would mean that nobody was responsible for the so called prank.

"Well, the llamas were in the attic, so why not investigate?" he suggested.

The four Weasleys thought it was worth a try and all walked up to the attic in their pajamas. Ron didn't really want to explore some more, but he knew that there was a possibility that they would come up with some idea of who it could have been.

"Alright, lead the way, Ron!" Fred instructed as they arrived at their destination.

Ron nodded and walked in the same direction that he had taken the day before. Once they spotted the llama that Ron had dropped, they stopped and looked around.

"If the thing was here, then some sort of clue should be nearby..." Ginny claimed, opening dusty boxes full of junk in search of the rest of the llamas.

Ron only had time to search for a few seconds before he was pushed to the side by George. "What the-"

Ron was about to complain, but when he spun around to confront him, all he could see were llamas. A whole pile of llamas that were suffocating Ginny, who hadn't moved fast enough.

"Help!" she cried, struggling to wriggle out of so many stuffed toys. Ron and the others picked themselves up from the floor and hurried over. When Ginny was freed, they all plopped down on the soft llamas.

"I sense foul play!" Fred exclaimed, pounding one hand on the other.

"Agreed. I just-" Ginny tried to explain something, but was interrupted when yet another box of llamas came tumbling after them.

"The ghoul!" Ron announced, pointing up as the ugly creature's shadow disappeared deeper into the attic.

"Follow it!" George shouted, but by then it was too late. The ghoul had found somewhere to hide.

With low spirits, the gang proceeded downstairs where their mother was waiting for them.

"I'm sorry I didn't come to check on you sooner," she apologized. "I had to have a serious conversation with your father."

Ron had no idea what she was referring to, but he didn't care. He needed some rest.

* * *

Over the next couple of weeks, the Weasley children kept trying to drive the ghoul out, but to no avail. Every time they got close, more llamas would appear and attack. And if it ran out of llamas, it started throwing pots and pans, which were more painful to get hit by.

Even on the few occasions where Mrs. Weasley would give it a try, her magic wasn't enough to keep the ghoul at bay.

And so, the Weasley's declared defeat. The ghoul wasn't going anywhere, but at least the llamas wouldn't be seen again. Ron never found out where they had come from in the first time, but every time he brought them up, his mother was sure to change the subject, and his father allowed her to do so.

Normally, Ron would've been curious to find out, like Fred and George, but he was sick of llamas. He was happy without their presence and he wanted to keep it that way.


End file.
